Ferrari's F1 future is no longer certain

Ferrari used to rely on selling its road cars to fund its long racing history but, as DIETER RENCKEN explains, times have changed and the Scuderia's F1 future isn't as guaranteed as it once was

Study visuals of Tazio Nuvolari's 1935 German Grand Prix-winning Alfa Romeo - which slayed the might of that country's Silver Arrows - and a detail is unmissable: A yellow shield bearing the letters S and F and a black rampant stallion (Cavalino Rampante) graces the flanks of this red single-seater, specifically its (front) engine cover.

A tatty Nurburgring race programme provides clues to those initials: Alfa Romeo's race team was then outsourced to Scuderia Ferrari after an agreement was struck between the Milanese company and its former race driver, Enzo. No sooner had the 1933-38 deal ended than World War II intervened, and, only after hostilities ceased did the Modenese construct and race cars under his own name.